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Following a surge in allegations of sexual misconduct by tech VC Dave McClure, both McClure and business partner Elizabeth Yin have announced they're parting ways with the firm, if on somewhat different terms.

In the past week, Silicon Valley's apparent swell toward a cultural reformation pulled 500 Startups co-founder Dave McClure into the fold as sexual harassment allegations against him (or worse) from multiple women in the tech industry came to light. In the following days, McClure took the path of other similarly accused tech bigwigs of late, publicly apologizing for being "a creep," and stepping aside as CEO so 500 Startups' Christine Tsai could take over.

Today, the tech world rocked with more 500 Startups news, starting with a frank, thorough, and skin-crawling response to McClure's public apology and his claims over the 'context' of events recently brought to light. In a blog post, entrepreneur and founder Cheryl Yeoh detailed how McClure had once tried to up her drinking pace at a party she was hosting, lingered after other guests had gone, and finally tried to force and plead his way into intimacy, even as she protested for the sake of a boyfriend he knew about.

Yeoh also noted that she'd agonized over coming forward about an incident that has "been haunting [her] for the past three years," and "thought [she] wouldn't have to" because of allegations against McClure in the New York Times, but realized from his subsequent apology and behavior that the message hadn't landed.

In an emailed statement, a 500 Startups commented, “We appreciate Cheryl speaking up and realize how upsetting and painful it is for her to have gone through that experience and have the courage to speak up. We can only hope our efforts in changing 500 can help create a safe and effective platform for female founders around the world.”

As TechCrunch reported Monday, Yeoh's allegations seem to align with references made in an internal email by 500 Startups accelerator lead and partner Elizabeth Yin. Obtained and verified by TechCrunch, the letter to staff announced Yin's resignation as a company partner effective Friday, and explained her reasoning for leaving in "the middle [of] maternity leave." Yin wrote, "It’s become clear to me over the last month that I can no longer be part of this organization. The actions that 500 has undertaken have deviated from its mission, and I can no longer continue to represent this organization."

"Specifically, I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights and deep frustration with the lack of transparency and several untruths that I believe everyone who chooses to represent 500 should be aware of," she continued. In the paragraphs that followed, Yin discussed how a friend at 500 Startups had come to her with a serious complaint against McClure, and how her initial hope that this and other claims would be duly addressed had significantly faded in recent weeks.

Power dynamics are the key to sexual harassment / sexual assault, and removing Dave from a position of power seemed like the right course of action ... However, as time progressed, it became clear that he was still involved with 500 Startups on a day­-to­-day basis. He continued to be vocal and active in all 500 Startups Slack channels, influencing key business decisions. Despite having no official management power, it was obvious that 500 staff weren’t completely aware of the gravity of the situation and continued to be deferential and even supportive of him.

Among other things, Yin's letter also suggested that the firm's leadership did not inform staff that its CEO change had to do with to sexual harassment or assault allegations against McClure, or that he'd be out of day-to-day operations, until after the Times story broke. In an emailed statement, 500 Startups commented,

In April our management team learned of allegations related to inappropriate behavior by Dave McClure. We took the matter seriously and immediately initiated an internal investigation which resulted in the replacement of Mr. McClure by Christine Tsai as CEO. In May we held a company-wide all hands call and sent an email afterwards that same day notifying the team that Dave had stepped down from day-to-day management of 500. Throughout the CEO transition Mr. McClure remained at 500 to fulfill his legal responsibilities to the funds as a General Partner. Due to the sensitivity of personnel issues and the privacy of all involved, the investigation was kept confidential

And today, less than a week after claims about McClure's behavior became widely known outside the tech bubble, the VC has announced he's leaving 500 Startups for good.

I'm a freelance writer covering tech, media, science, and culture. My background includes the areas of writing, editing, and education, and I received Bachelor and Master

…

I'm a freelance writer covering tech, media, science, and culture. My background includes the areas of writing, editing, and education, and I received Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees from the University of British Columbia and California State University, East Bay, respectively. My work's also been published by mental_floss, AlterNet, Salon, and the Atlantic's CityLab, among others. For more of it, check out my online portfolio at janetburns.contently.com or my cannabis news and culture podcast at patreon.com/TheToke.